Long Journey of 1970 Firebird Restoration
 

My father bought the 1970 Esprit new in May of 1970 when I was 15. I was able to buy it from him in 1974 and drove it until 1998. Ohio and Michigan salt ate up a lot of the body, but I was able to find a garage stored one in Texas as the new platform for restoration. Initial prep work on the body and the chassis rebuild was done in 2000-2004, then it went into storage for 14 years again. Finally locating a suitable shop in 2018, it was into paint where the Coronado Gold was nicely duplicated. A 4.25" stroker kit from Butler was ordered for the 350 block, 6X heads were added along with Comp roller rockers, Johnson Hyd roller lifters and a Comp XR276HR cam. Len Williams did the assembly work and the engine dynoed at Reher-Morrison. After Covid delays, work is finally underway again as the serpentine kit was installed and the engine/transmission put back in the car. It will be finished out as an Esprit again with a TA hood and HD suspension package for a 1976 model including the 3.23 posi rear axle. Completion hopefully in October.

Next set of photos.

Hopefully looking close to original (except for that serpentine kit, of course).

Nice work! That looks like it's going to be a blast to drive.

Congrats.....I know you are excited to get it drivable again.
Love the gold color....beautiful car!

Congratulations, nice.

Also like the gold. Nice work.

Looks great!. My only comment would be that the TORKER intake is Taller than stock. There may be some aircleaner base issues, etc if you intend to have the shaker " shake" and fit correctly. Nice project! Thanks for posting!

Looking great!
I love the Coronado Gold!


:)

I ran it under the regular hood with about 3/4" clearance above the air cleaner lid. I'm hoping the TA hood has a bit more room.

Really nice looking car! What CID is it now with the 4.25" crank in a 350 and what did it do on the dyno?

413 cu in. 9.13 to 1 comp ratio

442 lb ft @ 4300 rpm

453 hp @ 5600 rpm

Sure, the 350 block is a small bore, but the big intake valve allows for a good cylinder fill.

Very nice. I run a Torker 2 on my 76 T/A. I had to mod the air cleaner a bit to make it fit. Now that you put the T/A hood on it, I'd add the wheel and trunk spoilers for a T/A look. Just me though.

Nice build!

Thanks for posting! Are you in Oklahoma, Texas area?

Impressive results on that engine build, pretty much doubled the original hp. Should be fun on the street

DFW

My gold 1970 Firebird 350 is also AC with Manual brakes.

It's been a wait, but we finally have the engine fully installed, plumbed, wired running in the vehicle again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxDtH_76piU

We'll see if it moves once the new driveshaft arrives!